Nintendo has registered for a new patent application that seems to relate to cloud gaming. Though these patent applications are a bit hard to understand with all the jargon, it appears as though the patent is relating to devices that are able to assist game consoles in computing requirements for displaying information.

The basic claim of the patent reads like it is related to the NX, but as this is a patent application it’s impossible to tell. Here’s a relevant bit from the listing on NeoGAF.

a supplemental computing device configured to detachably couple to the game console via the physical communication interface, the supplemental computing device comprising: one or more processors configured to provide, over the physical communication interface, processing resources to the game console to assist the game console in locally executing the game;

This sounds like what has been rumored in the past, as we’ve seen claims that the NX will be a hybrid console with some piece of it being detachable and portable in some way.

This patent outline shows the flow of how the system would work together.

The really interesting thing is that Nintendo may be looking to use the raw power of these supplemental devices to help stabilize its network in some way. Further down the patent listing, a paragraph mentions that users may be compensated in some way if they agree to allow their supplemental device to assist in computations for others on the network.

In some instances, a user may be compensated based on an amount (e.g., time, raw resources, etc.) that the user shares his or her supplemental computing device or indicates that he or she is willing to share the supplemental computing device. This compensation may comprise any form of value, include access (e.g., time) to other supplemental computing devices maintained by other users, discounts on games, access to certain game content, points for redemption for digital or physical goods, information for display (e.g., as a badge) on a social network, or the like.

This all has really interesting implications for the future of Nintendo. If you want to read the rest of the patent application in its entirety, check it out here.